INSIDE THE GAY MARRIAGE SCAM.

hen writer, activist and musician, Reeta Loi, signed up to The Arranged Gay Marriage Bureau in early 2019, the journey she was about to embark on was one she’s wasn’t expecting. The Arranged Gay Marriage Bureau is based in India and promised to find life partners for gay men and women who who sign up to their service for a considerable fee. It was founded in 2015, and within a few years it was gaining media attention for its revolutionary match-making service primarily aimed at queer South Asian people. “Part of me felt really excited that this existed whereas another part of me was slightly suspicious,” admits Reeta when I catch up with her over the phone from Los Angeles. “I wanted to know it was coming from good intentions.” After signing up and filming her experience for a new Vice documentary, Reeta arranged a call with the organisation’s founder Urvi Shah. “She won me over,” says Reeta. “She was very charming.” During their first conversation, Urvi really drew Reeta in. “She said, ‘It’s because we act as family because people in the community don’t have family support’,” Reeta explains. “I went through that experience. The fact that she said that she’s acting as a parent and personally speaks to every single person in the database really won me over and hit me in the heart.” Reeta was at